Aspects of morphometry, distribution, and key identification of the genus Pomadasys (Perciformes: Haemulidae) from the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman with descriptions of new records

• Published in: Thalassas : revista de ciencias del mar 2021-10, Vol.37 (2), p.671-682
• Main Authors: Damadi, Ehsan, Moghaddam, Faezeh Yazdani, Ghassemzadeh, Fereshteh, Ghanbarifardi, Mehdi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Biology; Body shape; Coastal ecology; Coastal Sciences; Earth and Environmental Science; Earth Sciences; Economics; Environmental factors; Fins; Fish & Wildlife Biology & Management; Freshwater & Marine Ecology; Geographical distribution; Gills; Habitats; Identification; Identification keys; Lateral line; Marine & Freshwater Sciences; Marine fishes; Meristic counts; Morphology; Morphometry; Multivariate analysis; New records; Oceanography; Pomadasys; Principal components analysis; Rare species; Salinity; Species diversity; Variance analysis; Water depth; Zoology
• ISSN: 0212-5919; 2366-1674
• DOI: 10.1007/s41208-021-00308-1

In this study, seven species of Pomadasys from the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman are examined. This genus includes species with high economic and ecological importance, and taxonomical challenges are due to their very similar meristic features. Three species of Pomadasys aheneus, P. furcatus and P. olivaceus are reported for the first time from the Iranian waters of the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. These rare species were collected from coastal rocky habitats in 5–12 m water depth. This paper presents detailed description of seven Pomadasys species including morphological characters, distribution, photographs, along with identification key. The results of univariate and multivariate analyses were in relatively high agreement, indicating significant difference in the number of gill rakers, the number of tubed lateral-line scales, body depth, snout length, second and fifth dorsal-fin spine length, caudal-fin length and pectoral-fin length among the species. The variation in body shape showed a significant correlation with ecomorphological diversification. Species diversity of the Persian Gulf is low as compared with the Gulf of Oman which can be due to ecological factors and habitat structure.